The Ghosts Of Terra
by TheKhorneFlakes
Summary: When Imperial remains are discovered on Virmire, the council sends a research team to discover its secrets. However, Not all of the Imperium is dead, As they will discover to their chargin. Rated M for Warhammer
1. Intro

Warhammer 40k refrence material, characters and settings belong to games workshop. all mass effect refrence material, characters and settings belong to bioware.

_"20 Years ago, In an uncharted star system outside from citadel space, We came across a planet that had all the markings of civilization upon it._

_As we descended from our ship, we could see with greater clarity that whoever this world belonged to, was long dead. crumbling towers and highways were a common place, enough so that we had to proceed on foot as we explored this dead world_. _at first, the architecture was prothean while already in a state of decay due to years of neglect, was noticable. however, as we delved into the abyss of this world-city, we started to come across diffrent styles. usally only for a few levels and then shifting to a diffrent style. it would appear that the cities had been built up on each other, forming the massive skyscraper forms we see today._

_It was after a solid 5 hours of descending that we hit upon the furthest level. it appears that there was more floors downwards, but they had collapsed over the years. as we stalked thes corridors, my assistant notified me that he had run tests on the walls to test how durable they were. they matched no known substance in the entire salarian union. we both started to wonder what treasures lay down in this catacomb. we started to find that the walls were staring to be comprised of a gold like material the further we went along_._ Without any further leads, me and my team continued along this path. eventually we hit a central plaza, And what a sight it was to behold, the roof almost certanily measurred up for at least 600 feet. statues of asari like beings, stood in defiance of age, Clad In Armour of resplendanr design, and of course, the Massive Temple that stood in the centre. awestruck by our surrondings we decided that we should investigate the temple._

_*Sigh* I still have nightmares of that place you know? the skeletons, the shear number of them you coudnt even see the ground, there was that many. skulls that were almost the same shape of an asari child, same size as well. bones upon bones, heaps upon heaps. it was a horrible feeling in that slaughter house. of the few things we took with us when we left, a near disintgrated paper book with the symbol of a winged asari skull, a crude looking device that looked like a cross between a sword and an industrial tree cutter and a single banner from inside the temple, depicting a brownish asari in golden armour, facing against another that screamed pure evil. black plate covered his whole being. skulls on chains draped across his whole body. before we left we decided to investigate the remains of these people. we discoveded that most of the skeletons to have suffered gunshot wounds to the cranium. it would appear that they were mercy killed before what ever could reach them did so._

_After we reported our findings to the insitute, it was leaked out into the press, and before you know it, the council has put a ban on any delving into the ruins of that place, under the excuse of "letting the dead rest". they didnt fool anyone at the insitute. while we cant go back there anymore, we still have the banner and book. the sword...thing turned out to be near worthless as it could bearly function. we set up the banner in the mueseum and as of right now, the book is being decpihered. all theyve managed to get out of it is the tile "The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifitng Primer", unfortunatly it seems that the rest of the book is a completly different language than the title. its going to be a long wait to find out what its about, but when we crack it, who knows what wonders it will hold?"_

_-_Narid Jarwinar, head of the Salarian Insitute For Exo-Archeological Research_

Rubbish i know, im a rather bad writer so any tips would be greatly appreciated. ursakar & a cynical owl helped inspire this fic after reading their great stories.


	2. Chapter 1 Arrival

"_Dont Screw This Up Liara, You Will Never Get An Oppertunity Like This Again". _this line continued to course through her head as she made her way to the insitute camp. it was hard to belive that 2 weeks ago that an asari merchant ship had discovered on planet Virmire that traces of Imperial Architecture lingured on the surface. as soon as this was relayed back to citidel space, the councilers themselves asked that a large archeological team be sent to this planet to uncover its secrets. with the last site know to have housed imperial artifacts being encased in a solid block of concrete to allow the spirits of the dead to sleep, this would hopefully reveal fruits on these strange people. a large jolt in the craft woke her from her day dreams and announced their arrival at the camp. as she disembarked, she noticed how the world had looked just as wonderful as it had from the reaserch vessal in orbit. as she wandered down the shore front, she heard a voice comming from behind her. "Its Beautifull isnt it?" Announced a somewhat synthetic voice from behind her. as she spun round to see who it was she was confronted with a visor, typical of the quarian race.

"Yes, of course, but forgive me if im being rude, but why is a quarian here?"

"Well Our People had managed to recover a craft with the Imperial Symbol on it, it was nothing special, just a turbo fan atmospehric craft. in despreate need of spare materials, the admiralty ordered that the craft be stripped of its parts and cannablized for the flotilla. since i worked on the dismantalling of it i guess that makes me the closest thing the councill has to an expert on imperial machinery."

"you still havnt answered the question"

"in return of my services, the councill would give us equipment and new ships for the use of my expertise. we usally are only able to get hold of second hand ships so this deal will help the flotilla immensley "

"I see, thank you, even though it wasnt even in my place to ask"

"No Problem, names Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, just call me Tali, yours?"

"Liara T'soni"

"well I best get going, the Salerians get paranoid when im out off sight, Damn Bosh'tets, anyway see you around"

"Im sure we will"

as her new friend walked off back to the camp, she decided to stay a while and soak up the beauty of the tropical sun before heading back to the camp. as she came back she noticed a lecture was going on. rembering that Dr Narid was giving a debreifing on the on the imperial history, she hurried over.

"And so you can see that th-ah, Nice of you to finaly join us Dr. Tsoni, we were just going over the remains of the imperial pressence here and the history of what we know about them."

"Apologies, I was just talking with one of the other members."

" Next time, come when we are about to start the lecture instead of being 5 minutes late. As i was saying, The Imperials were a very pious people judging how much they gave importance to their areas of worship and how they incorpreated their religious symbols into their buildings. While almost nothing remains of their culture, We have 2 things to show of their history, An indeciphered book and a religious banner, Neither of which has helped that much other than show what these people looked like. with the only other site to date being banned from research and archeological studies, this will become the area in which we learn most about these people. tomorrow we will begin to investigate the largest location on the planet, Given the designation Site-A which is 5 miles south from here. any questions?"

A Salarian at the front shot up their hand almost immediatly.

"weve heard rumors that from the small pieces of evidance that we can scrounge up, that the imperials never used mass effect technology, is this true?"

"All current evidence supports this theory, there is also the fact that carbon dateing puts imperial artifacts at least a millenia before the precursors. Anymore?

again another hand shot up.

"Why do we have a specter with us?" questiond the salerian as he gestured towards a Turian in the back ground.

"Due to the fact that this is a uncharted planet and site, The councill belives it would be wise to send a bit of protection for us. That is why...im sorry i didnt catch your name, mr?"

"Saren"

"That is why Saren is here. now, anymore? Good, we head out in 20 hours, get to know your team mates and fellow members."

with the meeting ajourned, the whole site buzzed with activity and conversation, as she headed out of the tent she wondered what hid inside Site-A, what wonders hid inside?

"you there" commanded the spectre as he approached the asari

"Yes?"

"I saw you with the suit rat, she seems to be quite friendly towards you. If she tells you anything that she hasnt told the rest of us, inform me as soon as possible"

"Id rather not, that would be a betrayel on my part and will do no such thing"

"I think you should rethink your position, as if she does do something, you will be a made to look like an acomplice" and with that he wandered off, most likely to threaten other members of the expedition. Liaria wondered, that with the amount of time thats passed with the geth rebellions, why did some people hate the quarians?

* * *

BEGIN REBOOT...COMPLETE

PLANET: KVARIUM ALPHA

DAYS SINCE LAST ACTIVATION [CORRUPTED]

ALL SYSTEMS [ONLINE]

STRUCTURE INTEGRITY [100]%

XENOS DETECTED. LOCATION [5] MILES [NORTH] OF CURRENT POSITION

ATTEMPTING CONTACT WITH LOCAL PDF FORCES...NO RESPONSE

ATTEMPTING CONTACT WITH IMPERIAL GUARD...NO RESPONSE

ATTEMPTING CONTACT WITH SEGMENTUM COMMAND...NO RESPONSE

ATTEMPTING CONTACT ON ALL IMPERIAL FREQUENCIES...NO RESPONSE

ENACT CONTINGANCY PLAN: MACHERIUS

STRUCTURE INTEGRITY [100]%

BEGINING STASIS REMOVAL ON GARRISON...COMPLETE

LASGUN AND POWER PACK PRODUCTION [100]%

VOX SYSTEMS [ONLINE]

VOX ALL PERSONEL THAT XENOS FORCES ARE INBOUND

SEND OUT PATROL SERVO SKULLS TO SCOUT XENOS ENCAMPMENT

[THE EMPEROUR PROTECTS]

* * *

Sero Skull #827 was created as a mobile vox unit for the local imperial commander. Now, After a millenia of inactivity it was going to be put to the service of the omminisah. having been taksed by the facilitys machine spirit with the task of observing the alien forces moving on their position, 827 moved with haste, its dog like machine spirit doing what ever it could to appease its master. as it sped along the coast to the encampment, a thought ran through its mind, if these xenos are unidentified, maybe it should take samples to scan these xenos dna to check for chaotic mutations. it was night by the time the probe arrived at the perimiter. the machine spirit decided to wait until the entire camp had went to sleep before it went in to gather some "samples". as the entire camp fell to sleep, the probe slowley cruised its way through the outskirts of the camp, looking for targets of oppertunity. After a long time searching, it finaly found what appeared to be the barracks of the enemy force. Unfortunatly the door utilized a unknown mechanism that consisted of holograms that hindered its efforts to enter the heretical abode. Just as it was about to withdraw from the compound, There slumped against a wall, appeared a humanoid body. Cautionsly, 827 approached, after a brief 5 minutes of making sure the xeno wasnt playing tricks, It figured out that the Xeno was asleep. The figure did not match any Imperial-xeno records what with its 3 fingers & backward curving legs. It decided that this was most likely its best chance of securing samples for the medics back at the facility and so proceded to withdraw a simple syringe from its housing and stab the xeno in the leg. fortunatly, the xeno didnt register the pain or the sensation of being pricked with the sharp object. 827 then proceded to with draw as much blood as possible to ensure they had enough for samples and analysis. With is mission complete, 827 scurried back to base. Just as it was about to break out of the camps perimiter, A shot rang out from across the camp as a High powered round hit the servo skull, tearing its way through the skulls mechanisisms. As it fell to the earth, it sent one last vox to the facility, [DISCOVERED, DESTROYED]

* * *

With one heck of a splitting headache, Corporeal Antioch stumbled out of his stasis chamber, out into a dark corridor. "Hello?" "Anyone?" shouted Antioch in to the abyss that was the corridors. No response came. as he was about to wonder where on earth the rest of his regiment was, Alarms sounded through out the base.

~XENOS INBOUND, XENOS INBOUND, REPORT TO THE NEAREST ARMOURY FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS.~

"Frak"

with one swift motion, He spun round into the direction of the armoury and set of at high speed. "_Oh Emperour, please dont be chaos, i can handle tau and orks, but please not them, anything but them"_ with these panicked thoughts he made his way to the armoury, with the odd turn of course. the facility had been rusted a bit since his installment into the stasis device, but it was standing strong nevertheless. when he finally made his way to the armoury, he found it completly deserted. not only that, it was well stocked, with some weapons appearing like they had just came out of fabrication

"Where on Terra is everyone? I know for a fact i wasnt the only one in stasis." he Eventually rationalised that he may have been the only one who was awoken. as he made himself readdy equiping the standard Imperial Flak Jacket and helmet with rebreather from some of the newer crates, godknows what could of happend to the atmosphere in the time he was asleep. after grabbing hold of a few Frag Grenades and powerpacks, As well as one of the newly furbished lasguns. fulley equiped, he decided to make his way to the command center, To figure out what in the name of the emperour was going on.

* * *

Well thats chapter one. sorry if its rubbish, im a terrible writer i know. anyway if you could leave a comment and give a bit of advice, i would greatly appreciate it. i know im being a bit vague with some things, but i will explain it all in due time.


	3. Chapter 2 The First Contact

It was early morning when Liaria woke up from Hearing a commotion in the camp. "_What in the name of the Goddess is going on out there?"._ She quickly got dressed and decided to see what was disrupting her sleep.

as she left the tent she immediatly saw what the ruckus was about. Saren, In the middle of a large group of asari and salerians and the odd baterian, Holding what appeared to be a Asari Skull high in the sky. "People, it would appear that we arent the only ones on this planet!" just as he was about to scream so other nonsense, Dr Narid came from his tent, Obviousley worse for wear from a rude awakeing.

"Whats the meaning of this Saren? Cant you see some of us are trying to sleep?"

"Of course doctor, I understand that you need to sleep, But we have a serious situation on our hands."

"And what would that be?" Narid yawned in an obvious tired tone.

"This" and with that word pushed the grotesque probe towards the doctor. It took a moment for Narid to realise what he was looking at, One of the many skulls that haunts his dreams "Now tell me, do you know what that is?" Saren asked in a malice filled voice.

"Its an Imperial Skull, though heavily modified with what appears to be cybernetic parts, Where did you find it?" His voice laden with fear

"Last Night, It would appear that it did a little scouting run, and a bit of autopsy." Saren Stated. He then proceeded to hold up a vial of a suspicious red fluid. "Due to the fact we are facing an unknown enemy, Judging by how this thing acted in a hostile manner. As such, with my authority as Spectre, I order this archeological To cease and be brought to a halt. I have already informed the council on the situation and they are sending the Turian 43rd Marine Regiment here to neutralize any hostiles. your co-operation would be greatly appreciated."

While most of the team was whispering on what this would mean, Dr Narid was near boiling point "You cant do that! If there are any of these Imperials left alive then surely a first contact scenario is most appropriate! I can not allow this to happen!"

"Then my dear doctor, you shall help your team from the brig" Saren then proceded to signal 2 salerian guards who promptly restrained Narid. "YOU CANT DO THIS! ITS AGAINST THE LAW!" screamed Narid as he was taken away in to a shuttle.

"Your forgetting something Doctor. I am above the law!" Saren stated as he was thrown into the shuttle. As the shuttle containing Narid headed back to the main reaserch vessel, Saren turned round to address the remaining civilians. "I expect your full co-operation in this endevour, we will try to keep the remains of the site as intact as possible for your future study, Now, Does anyone know where the suit rat is?"

* * *

As Antioch made his way to the command center, he wondered where on Terra did the rest of the personal went? before he was installed in stasis, he clearly remembered the hoards of servitors and Tech-Priests Working at the Facility, so where did they go? Could Chaos have found it and managed to get in? This facility was supposed to be unknown to all but the high lords of terra and certain elements of segmentum command, so unless...unless...Antoich stalled to a standstill as he realised what might have just happend. "_But thats impossible, All of us were selected by segmentum command due to examplry sevice, none of us would betray the Emperor!"_ still, The nagging thought stayed on his mind.

It was quite possible that one of the Guardsmen or Tech-Priests could of been influenced by the Dark Powers, thus causing what ever happened to the rest of the personnel, He reasoned in his mind.

"_best get a move on, I need to link up with any Loyalist's still around here, If any are still around"_ And with that thought in his head, Antioch rushed onward's to his goal, Believing that what ever happened to the rest of the garrison, the truth lay there.

* * *

Saren knew what lay on this planet, Prior experience had led him to know the twisted nature of what lay on this planet.

*Flashback*

Before he was made a Spectre, In 2159 he was sent along with his brother Desolas on a mission to secure a downed Turian Research vessel carrying a valuable Prothean artifact. Apparently, In an effort to escape a pirate attack, They activated the Theta relay and ended up in an unexplored system.

Thankfully, there wasn't a species like the Rachni, But for the crew of that vessel, Something much, much worse lay on that planet. The first transmission was innocent enough: ["_This is The_ _Spirit of Aephus, We've had to perform an a emergancy landing on the sole hapitable planet in this system after passing through the Theta relay due to a pirate attack. We are calling this planet Eboracum-1 for practicalty purposes, The planet seems to support Levo-amino life and is of a Temprate nature but has no sentient species to speak of. we are planning to send out expeditions to scout out the planet.]  
_

It was the final transmission that struck home how dire the situation had become on the planet for the turian research team [_This is Captain Paudias, Im the last surviving crew member of The Spirt of Aephus, The scientists discovered some kind of lost prothean base on this Spirit forsaken planet. The Scientists went ahead with some of my crew to see what was inside. When they came back they brought this cryo tube back holding some kind of Asari, But different, We coudnt tell what kind of species it was but, considering what shape the body was and the skeletal mask that covered its face, it may be some kind of Asari subspecies that the protheans created. they dumped it in the cargo hold, which is a blessing now, or just prolonging this torture. _

_When they woke that...thing..up, It proceded to let out this ear shattering scream and then go onto butcher everyone in the cargo hold without breaking a sweat. I managed to get out of there and head back up to the bridge, But the thing found me and is currently pounding at the door. I dont know how much time i have left before that thing breaks through so listen carefully. DO NOT SEND ANYONE AFTER US OR THE ARTIFACT. YES, WEVE TRIED SHOOTING THE DAMN THING, NOTHING WORKS, DO NOT COME HERE, ONLY DEATH WAITS HER *Sounds of metal being torn apart* OH SPIRI-*Transmission descends into screams and sounds of breaking bone. After 1 minute of constant screams the transmission ends]_

It was torture listening to those screams. He could see many of his comrades had been visually disturbed from the transmission played over the radio. it was here that his Brother Desolas stood up to address those in the transport.

"Men, You may be wondering why we are risking our lives for this artifact when there appears to be some sort of Prothean bio weapon on the ground. Its simple really, The last time the Hierarchy discovered a prothean beacon, it shot us ahead of any other civilization on the Council. I dont know about you, But i dont want those men and women of that vessel to have their lives wasted because of some genetic mutant the protheans kept as a pet. We are helping the Hierarchy maintain its position by reclaiming that Artifact. When we go down there, anything onboard that isnt a Turian is a hostile. I Expect no mercy from the hostile, And I intend for you to return in kind...Ready your weapons, Secure your armour, Today we purge our territory of another evil!" Even after all these years, Saren coudnt help but be moved by his brother's speach.

"FOR THE HIERARCHY! FOR THE PRIMARCHS!" Shouted out Saren and the assembled troopers as they headed down to the downed vessel in their Transport.

As Desloas sat back down into one of the seats, Saren leaned over.

"Shoudnt we bring some heavy weapons with us? If that thing on the vessel could take assorted small arms fire, We should at least take the precaution and bring some heavy duty gear." Whispred Saren to desloas

"We'll be fine saren. Remember, We carry the finest weaponry in the whole of Citadel space. It may be able to withstand a few low calliber pistols and shotguns, But it will have a hard time trying to take us out when we have the top line in Military hardware. But I also see your point. It would also raise the morale of the men to know we have somthing able to kill this thing for sure. Dont worry brother, We will be able handle anything down there." Reassured Desloas

"I know but, Still, I cant just shake the feeling that something very...Wrong is down there."

10 minutes later...

* * *

It was night when the transport landed on Eboracum-1. As the squad boarded the downed vessel from the airlock, before they went in Desloas addressed his men.

"Alright, keep your wits about. What ever killed the crew could still be around, So eyes open. Cibaria, Have you got the ML-77?" Inquired Desloas

"Yes Commander, Locked and Loaded!" Answered the rather optimistic Turian

"Good, All right men, Primary objective is to secure the artifact, Killing the damn monster is secondary. Saren, Take point." ordered Desloas

"Of Course Brother" Confirmed Saren as he made his way to the front of the squad.

As he opened the door, the first thing he noticed was the stench. It was like walking into a butcher shop, With all the meat having been rotten for weeks. Strangely, he coudnt see anything that would be giving away the smell. As he made his way foward he came upon the main entrance to the cargo hold. As he tried using his Omni-tool to open the door, the V.I was rejecting any attempts at allowing the door to open. "_Well, Looks like theres no other choice..."_ "Ciberia, How many rockets do you have for the ML?"

"5 Sir, 2 AP & 2 HE, With one HEAT round. Why do you ask?" responded Ciberia, Rather confused.

"The Door is locked and the onboard VI is rejecting any means of access. In other words, I need you to blow that door up." Stated Saren

"Never thought you would ask, all right everyone, Back away from that door!" Ordered Ciberia as the squad made a mad dash to the rear of Ciberia.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Ciberia stated as he pulled the trigger. The Rocket was spat out almost immediatly, shrieking like a soul of the damned asit made its way to its target before exploding in a mass of black smoke and fire.

Before the smoke had cleared, The Squad charged into the new entrance created by the late rocket. The sight that awaited them was like something out of a horror movie. Bodies, Evicirated and mutilated, Were strewn across the ground. Some had been nailed to the walls with Various pieces of scrap metal. With most of the team frozen in shock, Saren advanced into the center of the Cargo hold, Looking franticly in search of the artifact. As he was about to worry if it had been taken by scavangers or a alien race, He saw it. Fallen on its side, and heavily damaged, It lay in a corner, draped with the corpses with Turian dead.

"Desloas, I have located the artifact, Albeit heavily damaged. Inform the "_Lance Of Parthia"_ that we will need dedicated recovery teams to bring this back with us"

"Affermative Saren, Alright men, Primary has been achieved, we just need to sit tight and wait for Extraction" Desloas Informed his men

Suddenly a burst of static rang through the whole squads radio "**AND WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING, XENO SCUM?!"** As those words rang through the turians radio, the door to the bridge opened up, Revealing a figure draped in red rags.

As the figure advanced upon the squad, Desloas Voice rang out like a Bell in a sea of peace. "FIRE!" The turians responded almost immediatly, With enough firepower to bring a Thresher maw down. The Chatter of their weapons was unceaseing, as the Figure was showered in a hail of Bullets. As the smoke cleared, The Turians almost routed before the sight before them. The strange being was still standing, With nothing to show for their effort apart from a few new holes in its rags.

"**I have faced the wrath of the Tyranid menace, Faced the Darker powers slaves with nothing but a plasma cutter and faith, And this is the best you can do? It will be a pleasure to disect you and learn of your lineage, You look like kroot, Are you a kroot sub-species? Bah, I can easily learn that from your remains. Eversor?"** From the darkend corridor leading to the bridge, Shrieks of metal on metal came bellowing from the black abyss. As the sound got ever nearer, A pair of Jade eyes set in a skeletal mask which was becomming ever more distinct the nearer it came. eventually it came into the full light of the cargo hold. Clad in black armour, with Talons longer than any turians set on its arms. The creature was the same shape of the Red Figure yet more...Beastly. It haunched beside the Red Thing like somekind of Thessian Pet.

"**I wonder how long you will last against my friend here? While the years have been hard on me, its just like the 13th black crusade has just begun for him, He still thinks he on Terra is still with us. Now, Enough reminiscing, Its time for you to be put down, Xeno!" **The Figure shed its rags, Revealing a sicking fusion of flesh and metal. It appeared to be a Strange masculine Asari, Judging by its body form, but the skin colour was off, It being a shade of Cream. He placed his hand ontop of the Evesor and started to mutter a series of words."**I AM THE LAST OF THE ADEPTUS MECHANICUS, ENGINSEER QUI'NOVAS! HEED MY WORDS, CHOSEN OF THE EMPEROR, WITH THESE HOLY WORDS, WAKE UP FROM THY TRANCE AND RETURN TO US!** Desloas woke his men out of their trance "EVERYONE, FOCUS FIRE ON THE METAL ASARI, EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING NEEDS TO BE THROWN AT IT!" these words were answered immediatly, with Saren letting loose untill his heatsinks overheated, And even then not letting it cool down, into the being, Who didnt even react to the volume of fire being thrown at it, And continued to chant its strange words. Saren Raised Ciberia on his com link "Ciberia! I need you to hit that thing with AP!" Screamed saren as he fired at the metal monster.

"Thought you would never ask" Repiled Cibeira as a rocket Shrieked its way way over to the beast, Before impacting and Exploding in a shower of fire and sparks.

The Squad started to celebrate their apparent victory, but as the smoke dissapated, Thie jubiliation turned to fear. even Saren took a few steps back at the sight that lay in front of him. The Red Man still stood, With his hand still ontop of the beast, chanting away. His other arm however, didnt fare nearly as well. All that was left of it was was a few cables and pieces of meat. His Torso was heavily battered, bleeding red blood onto the already gory ground. The Red Man Chortled a Blood filled laugh "**And so dies the last of the Ominissiahs children, On a backwater,*Cough*, Let me warn you pathetic Heretics, I may be one of the last, But we will rise again, And reclaim our BIRTH RIGHT! ****Ire deinceps punienda bellator inimicus ut sancta, et in mentibus eorum notare Imperium nomine ... pro reliquo vitae IMPERIUM VIVAT!" **With those words, The being fell to the ground. As soon as the body hit the ground, there was a long silence as the squad was paralized with fear and uncertantiy

Cibeira was the first to break the silence. "Hey, Do you think he didnt complete his little spea-ARRGHHHH!" The black beast sprang to life, Its jade eyes changing into a deep blood red, Slicing Ciberia in half from the waist, Completly bypassing his shields and tearing through his armour like it was paper. Before Ciberias two halves hit the ground, The Beast moved onto the rest of the turians.

Saren was the Second victim of the Eversor, Who pounced onto him, Pinning him to the ground. "SAREN!" Cried out Desloas above the clamour of battle as the Evesor proceded to Slice off Sarens left arm and was about to Decapitate him. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as his final seconds played right infront of his eyes "_So this is how it ends? My whole life, Cut short by a Demon. All for a lousy artifact" _As saren closed his eyes and awaited the final plunge, When The weight of the evesor was lifted off from him. Saren shot open his eyes to see his brother desloas tumbleing through the air with the Eversor. "Run saren, get the rest of the men out of here!" shouted Desloas over the commotion of battle.

"BUT-"

"NO BUTS SAREN, JUST GO!" ordered Desloas as the Evesor slashed his abodemen, Drawing a large amount of blood.

Saren got to his feet, Clutching the stump of his arms, He ran over to the remains of Ciberia. As the rest of the men ran back to the air lock, Saren grabbed hold of Ciberias's ML-77 & ammo pack and headed off to join them. "MOVE IT MEN, IF WE DONT MAKE IT OUT OF HERE, COMMANDER DESLOAS'S SACRAFICE WILL HAVE BEEN IN VAIN!" Shouted saren over the comlink. As they reached the air lock saren glanced to the rear of the squad. There, At the hole in the cargo hold's door, Was the monster that had killed his brother, clutching Ciberia's and Desloas's Heads in its hands. As soon as it spotted Saren, It let go of its grisley trophys. As the last of his men had entered the airlock he sat himself against the wall. "C'mon you unholy abomination, Let us put a end to this." As if understanding Sarens statement, it picked up its speed, running at him at full tilt. Saren calmly prepared the ML-77 and aimed it at the beast comming at him like a krogan. just as it was about to pounce onto Saren, Saren fired.

The Rocket hit it Squarley in the chest and reversed its progress down the hallway. As the rocket carried the beast upwards, It exploded, sending meaty giblets and a torrent of sickly green blood everywhere. Sarens vision started to fade and his hearing too, It wasnt long before he was passed out.

* * *

Saren grimaced as he put his talon on his artifical arm. It had been 10 years ago since that fatefull incident. It was swept quietly under the carpet, Damned Politics. His brother & most of his men died that day, And all for a lousey Prothean beacon. All they did was stick it in a museum on Illium for spirits sake. When he saw that skull probe, He knew immediatly what was here. and to deal with it, they would need a lot more firepower.

While the Asari might have swept this away, And the Salerians just didnt care, The Turian hierarchy always looked for vengance aginst those who wronged them. So he notified Central Command, Told them he found evidence of the same people who faced them on that fatefull day. After a study of the Vial the probe had on its person, He discovered it was of Quarian DNA. Wondering if the probe had took it by force, Or was simply forced to give it. He decided to seek the answer from the victim. It wasnt hard to find the rat, Recovering in the makeshit medical tent that some of the Asari had set up.

"What do you want you damn Bosht-tet? Come to inquire about whether ive stolen your shuttle? Or your credits? Or maybe your sense of privacy?"

"Well, Not quite, You see we found a strange probe, For lack of better term and, seeing as how you are the formost expert of Imperial technology, I was hopeing tell us anything about it,"

"Sounds Interesting, But as you can see im a little busy, Got the monster of all stomach bugs here. Something piereced my suit when i was asleep. Got it fixed now, but im going to be stuck here for a while. Tell you what, Hand me this probe and il give it a thorough looking over,"

"Of course, Here, Take it," as he set the probe on a table near the quarian. As Saren made his way out he turned to the Quarian. "If you find anything, let me know" and with that, Left the Quarian to her work.

* * *

"Finally, Bloody long walk that was" Bemused Antioch as he arrived at the command center. "Well, Time to stop delaying and get in there." Just as he was about to step towards the door, A loud Clicking noise filled the area. Antioch instinctivley raised his Lasrifle, Swinging it to his flanks as he backed himself to the door. The Noise was Growing closer now. Fear gnawed at him as the Clinking sound got ever closer. Just as the noise was upon him, It stopped. After a agonising few minutes, The door feel into its slot on the floor, Sending antioch flying through the entryway.

"**GREETINGS GUARDSMEN #1190, IT HAS BEEN [ERROR] DAYS SINCE YOUR LAST VISIT"** Announced a monotone voice

After clambering up off of the floor, Antioch dusted himself off. "Machine spirit, Where is the rest of the garrison and enginseers?"

"**SEARCHING...SEARCHING...ONE LIFE FORM DETECTED AT A-1...HUMAN"**

"Thank the Emperor! Which way is it to A-1?" Asked Antioch, Relived that he wasnt the sole member in the facility.

"**FACILITY SECTION A-1 IS AT THE CURRENT LOCATION OF #1190"**

And just like that, Antioch's hopes came crashing down like a slab of cermite.

"Machine spirit" Asked Antioch, Dreading the answer to his question. "What happend to the rest of the garrison?"

**"PROJECT BETHIAL, WAS THE PURPOSE OF THE FACILITY. INTENDED TO IMPROVE UPON THE AFIAL STRAIN GUARDSMEN'S WEAKNESS. AFTER THE GARRISON WAS PUT INTO STASIS, A WARP SYSTEM CUT THE SYSTEM OFF FROM RESUPPLY. 10 YEARS AND ALL GENETIC STOCKS HAD BEEN EXPENDED. TECH PRIESTS BEGAN TAKING GARRISON MEMBERS OUT FOR THEIR GENETICS AND BIOMASS, TO HELP CREATE MORE. 99% OF GARRISON FORCES WERE RECYCLED IN THIS WAY"**

The revlevation was a hard one to swallow. Antioch collapsed to his knees, Lasgun droping from hand. He began sobbing uncontrollably. "WHY, WHY YOU MONSTERS...WE SERVED HIM ON TERRA AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY US!? TURNING US INTO FOOD FOR YOUR EXPERIMENTS!?...All those kids, With faith and courage in their hearts, Who would have have their lives in the defense of the Imperium, All dead for a heretical experiment."

"Why...Why wasnt i taken with them?" Grieved Antioch

**"BEFORE YOU WERE TO BE TAKEN OUT OF STASIS TO BE RECYCLED, THE BETHIAL TROOPS THAT WERE ALREADY MADE STAGED A REBELLION, WIPEING OUT THE REST OF THE PERSONEL. THEY THEN TOOK THE SOLE TRANSPORT CAPABLE OF INTERSTELLER TRAVEL AND LEFT.  
**

**" XENO FORCES ARE STILL INBOUND TO THIS FACILITY, AND AS YOU ARE THE LAST REMAINING IMPERIAL UNIT IN THIS SYSTEM TO THIS SPIRITS KNOWLEDGE, YOU HAVE FULL CONTROL OVER THE FACILITYS ASSETS. STANDARD IMPERIAL ORDERS ARE TO HOLD OUT FOR IMPERIAL REINFORCEMENTS. AS WE APPEAR TO BE CUT OFF FROM IMPERIAL FORCES, WE MUST DIG IN AND HOLD OUT FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE WHILE TAKING A HEAVY TOLL OF THE ENEMY FORCES. WHILE YOU MAY HATE THE TECH PRIESTS FOR WHAT THEY DID TO YOUR COMRADES, WE BOTH STILL HAVE A DUTY TO THE IMPERIUM. I CAN NOT DEFEND THIS PLACE WITHOUT YOUR HELP."  
**

Antioch quit sobbing and rose to his feat, Grabbing his lasgun and inserting a fresh power pack inside. "Your right spirit, while the rest may be dead and by his side, I still have a duty to the Imperium. Is there any weapons and equipment that i could use to help defend this place?

"**BEFORE THE REBELLION,THIS FACILITY WAS STOCKED WITH THE STANDARD IMPERIAL EQUIPMENT****. MOST OF THESE WERE CAPTURED & DESTROYED IN THE REBELLION OF THE BETHIAL CLONES, BUT SOME STILL REMAIN INTACT. VEHICLE BAY STOCKS INDICATE A MARS PATTERN LEMEN RUSS IN GOOD CONDITION IS AVAILABLE.  
**

"Alright, That should be of help, Anything else?

**"SEARCHING DATA SLATES...A VULKAN ASSAULT PATTERN MELTA GUN IS LOCATED IN THE ARMOURY. AMMO STOCKS FOR METLA WEAPONRY AROUND 10 SHOTS BEFORE IT NEEDS TO BE RESUPPLIED. THIS FACILITY HAS NO MEANS OF REPLACING THE AMMO DUE TO LACK OF MATERIALS"  
**

"Nevertheless, It is good to know we have a means of taking out any armour these xenos have. How long is it till contact with the xeno?

"**Aprox. [6] hours"**

"Should I fail in holding the Xeno at bay, What will happen to the facility?

"**TO PREVENT ENEMY FORCES FROM GAINING IMPORTANT IMPERIAL RESORCES, STANDARD ORDERS ARE TO IMPLODE THE FACILITYS PLASMA GENERATORS"**

"I hope it does not come to that then, The Imperium could still make use of this place, even though the main project was misguided & heretical. Direct me to the Vehicle bay if you could, Spirit. Best I get ready before they arrive. These Xeno's will learn to fear the Hammer of the Emperor."

* * *

6 hours later

It was dusk when the Turian 43rd marine division had landed on Virmire. Having been sent by the council on the behest of the Spectre Saren, They had been informed that they were to face a unknown enemy and advised to treat all contacts as hostiles. As the division approached the Valley leading up to the entrance to the target. Back at the archeological camp, Which had been converted into a makeshift HQ, Saren and Adrien were discussing the Threat.

"The council was incredibly vauge on the threat here Saren, I dont suppose you would be so helpful as to inform me on what my men are facing in that valley?" Inquired Adrian

"Of course Adrien, If the council hasnt Informed you, Then you deserve to know. We are facing the Imperial's"

"Imperial's!? But...Their supposed to be extinct"

"Evidently not, I take it youve read the Eboracum Incident?"

"Yes, but i dont see how that has any implication here, A savage alien race attacking a turian vessel."

"Eboracum was the first contact the Council has had with The Imperial's. We only found out that the Aliens that assaulted the recovery team was Imperial by matching the DNA of the cyborg with other Imperial skeletons recovered over the centuries."

"Spirits, If these Imperial Ruins are still functioning like the ones were at Eboracum, My men are walking into a death trap! We need to fall back!"

"Adrien, If we can purge any of whatever freaks of nature are still alive in there, The Hierarchy will become the dominent power in the Council space, Possibly even the Terminus Systems. They Know this, And will gladly lay down their lives for th-"

At this moment, A Voice broke over Adrien's Omni-tool.

"Sir, This is Captain Iator of the 1st Brigade, 43rd Division. We have reached the Imperial remains but weve ran into a situation"

"Well?"

"We arnt the only ones here."

* * *

The Imperial Lemen Russ was, alongside the Bolter and Chainsword, The Symbol of the Imperium. Many a Guardsmen's life had been saved by the timley arrival by these Formidable Machines. Now, Millenium later, It's Service would be required again, To hold off the enemies of man from one of the Imperiums last holdouts.

Antioch waited in the command cupola of the Russ, Waiting to pounce on the xeno forces comming to destroy the work of the Imperium.

"As I stand against your Enemies, Give me the strength to overcome any hardships that may befall me. Guide my shots to the enemy, To have them strike true and strong. Gird my soul in the armour of contempt, To abhore the mutant, To Revile the Alien, To Purge the Heretic. Ave Imperator"

As Antioch finished his prayer, He lifted the command hatch to gain a better vantage point for to spot the enemy. While a valley is an excellent chokepoint, he must always be on the lookout for hostile forces along the lip of the he was about to head back down into the russ, he spotted it. A tau like craft, curved frontal armour with a boxy turret seated at the back, appearing to float off the ground. "_Ah, The Tau finally arrive, Cant say the vehicle looks familiar, Must be some new kind of Sept. Well, Time to get to work._

* * *

Sergeant Aethicus of the 43rd was the leader of its Armoured Brigade. As they advanced up the valley, He could see the Ruins that High command wanted them to capture, Intact if possible. "All Units, Procede to Objective, If it isnt turian, Kill it." Just then his Omni tool rang with the voice of his Driver

"Sir! We have a unknown primative armour approaching us from the right side, Fast! Impact Aprox 5 seconds"

1: Aethicus ordered the turret to be brought around.

2: He informed the rest of the Brigade of the current situation.

3: He ordered for the gunner to fire at will.

4: He watched in disbelief as the cannon's round Ricocheted from the tanks Ugly hull.

5: He tried to raise communications, But the Russ Impacted the C-60, shuddering it violently and disabling its propulsion.

6: The Russ kept accelerating, climbing and crushing the Turian Craft under its Treads.

7:The C-60 gave way, crushing all inside into a pancake, with the Russ standing triumphently over its kill

By now, the rest of the turian forces had reacted to this suprise assault. C-60's Advanced towards the Russ, Letting lose with all manners of munitions. The Russ swivled its hull, Aiming its Hull Las-Cannon at one of the Xeno crafts, before letting lose a lance of crimson light, Hiting the mass effect core of the craft, obliterating it in a blue fireball.

* * *

"_Holy warriors to bring forth the light._  
_ Armed with zeal, armoured with faith, _  
_ Gods of battle at the fore of the fight._  
_ Swords of the emperor, shields of mankind,_  
_ destined for war, fated for death_."

This litany rang inside Antiochs head, Drilled into his head at training, It had stuck with him throughout all the battles and campaigns he had faced. As he rushed from station to station inside the Lemen Russ all the while under attack,Even now with the tell tale pings of enemy fire, He could remember the litany of zeal. While possible for a single individual to operate the lemen russ, it's exceedingly hard, and the work was begining to show. shots were slowing down, Accuracy was suffering, and manuvering the russ was becoming increasingly hard.

"Got to last untill reinforcments arrive, Just got to last", Antioch handcranked the turret towards another Xeno craft, Before firing a AP shell towards another of the unholy xeno craft, spliting its armour like rotten wood and killing the foul xeno them moved back into the driver seat, rotating the hull to point at another xeno craft, before moving to the lascannon and letting lose a beam of scarlet at another of the heretical machines.

After taking a look through the drivers view hole, he saw vast quanities of Xeno infantry advance upon his position. He made his way to the command cupola before opening the hatch. Golden sunlight filled the dim interior, near blinding him as he clambared out of the russ to access the Pintle Storm bolter. The Fire Came almost immediatly, Pockmarking the Russ and his Flak Jacket with small arms fire. Antioch Swinged the Storm Bolter over to the closest xeno, And pulled the trigger.

The Turian Forces hadnt Expected the shear fire power to have came from the storm bolter. The Bolt rounds tore through whatever protection they had. Armour, Mass effect shields, All broke before its terrible gaze. Turians become mulch, Blown apart into meaty giblets. As antioch kept up his withering fire, he failed to notice a single turian sneak up from behind the lemen russ. The turian fired a rocket straight into the rear of the russ, sending antioch into the air, and the whole world went dark...

* * *

well, got this done finally, better late than never i guess. had a look back at the previous chapters, god are they bad. i really should of took my time with them. anyway, thanks for all the support an all, though im still having a hard time trying to figure out where i could get a beta reader. if anyone could point me to onne, i would be very greatfull.


End file.
